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tv   Americas Newsroom  FOX News  September 25, 2012 9:00am-11:00am EDT

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president obama. he will step to the stage in front of the podium at the united nations general assembly. that will happen at 10:00 eastern. big moment for the president because critics have been saying he should have been more focused on the dramatic events that have been unfolding including the murder of four americans at our consulate in libya. governor romney hitting the president on the campaign trail for referring to the turmoil going on there as bumps in the road. >> there are extraordinary events going on in the middle east. considering those events either one of them or all of them collectively as bumps in the road shows a person who has very different perspective about world affairs than the perspective i have. i think this is time for america to exert leadership. this is not something we're doing in the middle east. frankly the course we're on domestically left so many people behind. i think we have to take a very different course than the course that has been followed last four years. bill: we're going to take this course.
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team fox coverage. chief political correspondent carl cameron. carl, i want to start with you, romney and the president both speaking at this clinton event. what can mitt romney accomplish there this morning? >> reporter: he can talk more about foreign policy. in fact he will unveil his own proposal dealing with foreign aid suggesting it be more closely linked to the opportunity opening new markets and increasing trade with developing countries. quite apart from that this is not the partisan event that lend to his strong foreign policy criticism of president forum aboutps in the road remarks or that the attacks weren't planned in benghazi when there was so much intelligence that it was orchestrated al qaeda related attack. that will come later in rallies in ohio and the campaign trail. today he will announce he is planning a major foreign policy speech in next couple weeks. details on that forthcoming. which illustrates on romney and paul ryan's campaign which was thought focused on
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the jobs and economy has been forced into a broadened portfolio to include foreign policy and international affairs. it turned out to be fortuitous. there was a lot of speculation that mitt romney's relative inexperience one-term governor of massachusetts up against a commander-in-chief that claimed to kill bin laden would be a real liability. we've seen in recent weeks mr. romney has been able to get on offense. he was criticized for his early statements suggesting that the cairo embassy remarks attacks on benghazi were inappropriate. when you look at the subsequent list of alleged gaffs, misstatements and inappropriate rhetoric the president has been accused of even suggesting egypt isn't an ally made it possible for mr. romney to take more offensive approach on foreign policy and go up against the president to suggest he has not been a strong leader. bill: carl we'll be back to you in a moment. as soon as we see governor romney we'll bring our viewers to that event. meanwhile another one in new
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york and martha has that. martha: big day here. after governor romney, the president will address world leaders at the united nations general assembly this morning. that is expected to get underway 10:00 eastern time. we're getting an advanced look at some of what the president is expected to say this morning. chief white house correspondent ed henry is in the new york newsroom. ed, how is the president expected to address in his comments today the murder of ambassador stevens? >> reporter: good morning, martha. he will address it head on. as you heard from carl foreign policy is now back on the front burner in the presidential campaign. the president has been under fire about the comments about bumps in the road. white house response says the full context what the president was referring to was after the arab spring and not just the reeds attack in libya. there will be bumps in the road, it women be messy and tough days ahead. no doubt more pressure on the president because of attack in benghazi and what will he say. according to excerpts we've gotten already. there are no words that excuse the killing of
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innocents. no video justifies on attack on embassy. no slander provides excuse for people to burn a restaurant in lebanon or destroy a school in tunis or cause death and destruction in pakistan the you saw the reference to video. white hot because look, the white house originally tried to blame the terror attack in benghazi which they initially didn't want to call a terror attack but after several days did call it terror attack. they said look, this is spontaneous reaction to the film, anti-muslim film. they had to sort of backpedal to that. the president make as passing reference to it, probably not enough to satisfies his critics, martha. martha: the president of course is under fire for not having any one-on-one meetings especially with israel. this is a unique opportunity, these u.n. meetings for the president to take these kind of meetings when you look at the history of former presidents. they have taken many during the course of these meetings. so why no meetings in this case? >> reporter: it is pretty clear, martha, they want to try to make this as
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mistake-free as possible. because it is not just his predecessors, this president himself last september at 13 one-on-one meadings with world leaders. they realize when governor romney jumps on every statement in the presidential campaign they don't want to do the meetings. problems around the world are not going away. one of the big ones iran. here is what the is going to say. make no mistake a knew clear armed iran is not a challenge to be not contained. it risks triggering a nuclear arms race in the region and unraveling of the non-proliferation treaty. that is why a coalition of countries is holding iran accountable and that is why the united states must do when we must to prevent iran -- that last part, the we must do what we must to prevent iran obtaining nuclear weapon. what does that mean? will he launch u.s. military action. what will he do if israel launch as unilateral attack
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before the election against iran to stop its nuclear program? these are the major questions. martha: that is to the heart of it. that is what benjamin netanyahu said, wait, wait for what? this is the crux of the tension between the two. ed, thanks so much. be back to you in a little while. bill: we want to get back to carl cameron. you know what is on the plate, whether it is egypt, or iran's nuclear program, the dust-up with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. do you know from the campaign whether or not governor romney will address any of this or all of it or stay away? >> reporter: in the clinton global initiative he will larkly focus on issues he was sort of asked to speak about which is international development. he has specific ideas. linking foreign aid to opening up developing markets around the world when it comes to partisan combat and criticism president no doubt mitt romney has plenty to see about it. while he might temper his remark as little bit because this is bill clinton event and supposed to be
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nonpartisan there will be plenty of later today in a rally if ohio throughout the coming weeks. the romney campaign, the governor himself will announce his remarks here at cgi he is planning yet another foreign policy speech to again outline his criticisms of the president. romney's argument has been obama leadership worldwide has weakened the stature of the united states and has made it more difficult for us to hold our adversaries at bay and put us in adversarial position with a lot of our allies. most notably mitt romney can't go a foreign policy speech once without saying in his view the obama administration has thrown israel under the bus. he has specifically been playing to his relationship with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. they have known each other for almost 30 years when mitt romney took his overseas trip he spent a lot of time with netanyahu and referred to each other by first names and very informal and on brightly spotlighted international stage. romney believes he will strengthen u.s. alliances
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with israel and that is absolutely necessary and he suggested mr. obama too often has been disrespectful and given the cold shoulder to the jewish state that becomes emblem attic of all of that that is not what the clinton cgi speech is all about. republicans for decades in the polls had an advantage on foreign affairs and international policy. in recent months in this campaign, president obama as the incumbent commander-in-chief had a small advantage in some places. romney sees opportunity to combat that and erode that suggesting that the leadership of president obama worldwide in many ways diminished the united states stature and weakened its position to spread democracy around the world particularly with the arab spring becoming so violent. for mr. romney it is opportunity, for the country he says it should be a opportunity to contribute to ending that violence and mr. obama he believes has not been aggressive enough doing that. bill: you mentioned in ohio, in 30 seconds i left.
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paul ryan was in cincinnati yesterday. governor romney is there today. it is significant bus tour in the buckeye state. it is important with 18 electoral votes. >> reporter: the polls suggest --. bill: what is the romney team seeing in ohio today, carl? >> reporter: they recognize the polls are shading more and more to mr. obama. the president has growing lead in the buckeye state. this is state romney can not afford to lose if i wants to become president. the history is known. no republican ever won the white house without going first through ohio and winning it. they will have joint events in ohio. mr. romney holding three events in ohio. the campaign is uping tempo. they recognize as of today we're six weeks away from the election and may well be decided in ohio. romney and ryan will campaign again together in the future. all of this is really run up to debate season of next month. we are one week away actually, eight days away. the first debate takes place
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in colorado next week. every single moment matters. today is illustration of romney's readiness to deal with more than just a jobs and economic campaign. he has to show he is ready to be the commander-in-chief. the president of the united states on the worldwide stage. today cbgi appearance is little bit of that. foreign policy debate that continues to emerge. romney's initial strategy focusing on jobs and economy to exclusion of everything else will simply not work in a world chaotic as this. bill: carl cameron. at the clinton global initiative also known as cgi. carl mentions two important dates. october 3rd debate which is a week from tomorrow and 42 days before america votes as of today. six weeks. martha: we'll have a preview this morning in some senses of the two and their stances on foreign policy we're just getting started. very important morning developing here in new york. both speechs. mitt romney at the clinton global initiative that gets started moments away. we will hear from president obama at the united nations.
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we'll get reaction from former u.n. ambassador to the u.n. john bolton. we'll have his take on what he expects the president to say. bill: there is criticism from the white house after president obama referred to the recent turmoil overseas as bumps in the road. we'll talk to house majority leader eric cantor. his reaction on that. we'll be live in moment. >> vice-presidential nominee paul ryan slamming president obama's foreign policy say it made the middle east look like another time of turmoil from the past. >> turn on the tv and it reminds you of 1979 tehran but they're burning our flags in capitals all around the world. they're storming our embassies. woman 1: this isn't just another election. we're voting for...
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the future of our medicare and social security. man 1: i want facts. straight talk. tell me your plan... and what it means for me. woman 2: i'm tired of the negative ads and political spin. that won't help me decide. man 2: i earned my medicare and social security. and i deserve some answers. anncr: where do the candidates stand on issues that... affe seniors today and in the future? find out with the aarp voters' guide at earnedasay.org
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bill: as promised fox news alert now here in new york city. former president bill clinton walking out on stage with former governor mitt romney at clinton global initiative. we'll take this event awaiting governor romney's comments. >> thank you, governor romney, for coming here today. i think this is really important. all of you there here last night if we can't find ways to cooperate over these issues we can't find it anywhere. this is really important and i thought i would introduce him by giving you an example of one personal experience we had together. when i passed the americorps legislation and signed it through congress the model for me was the program based in boston called city year. which a lot of you know about it. it is a great program. [applause] when i left the white house there was some discussion about whether americorps
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would be defunded. by that time the largest affiliate in the united states was city year and the governor of massachusetts, mitt romney, was on the board. and had sent me a letter saying michael brown is nodding his head, had sent me a letter saying with 49, 48 other governors we should continue, this is important. so i called him and i was out of the white house. i said, governor, i love city year. that is what america -- what americorps is all about. i hope you help me save it. and he urged the republican congress to continue to support city year and he urged the white house to do it and they did. i just visited a city year program in south africa in johannesburg where the youth unemployment rate exceeds 40% but 80% of the city year volunteers in johannesburg have a job the day they
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leave city year. so it turns out to be good economics as well as good for the society. all of you should know that and i wanted you to know it. and governor, i thank you for being here. the podium is yours. [applause] >> thank you, mr. president, thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. president. it is an honor to be here this morning. i thank you for your kind words. that introduction is very touching. one thing we learned in the election season by the way, a few words from bill clinton can do a man a lot of good. [applause] all i got to do now is wait a couple of days for that bounce to happen, so. [laughter] as you know since serving as
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president, president clinton has devoted himself to lifting people around the world and one of the best things that can happen to any cause, to any people is to have bill clinton as its advocate. and that's really true for a whole series of causes but particularly for the needy and neglected causes. if he gets behind them it makes a real difference and it is that kind of work that brings us together today and i appreciate your willingness to spend time and listen to those coming with their messages. there are a number of things that impressed me about the global initiative, as i have seen it from afar i harnessing together people of different backgrounds, different institutions and different background and persuasions. you've been able to fashion partnerships if you will across the traditional boundaries, public and private, for profit, not-for-profit, charitable, commercial. on a smaller scale by the way i've seen the power of partnerships like this work before. in massachusetts
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bill clinton just spoke about, about city year. i have right over here, michael brown, one. founders. this was an effort where two social pioneers, michael and his friend alan casey, brought corporations and government together with volunteers to form this entity and it was the model as the president said for americorps. and i actually happened to be there at the first time he visited city year. he was there investigating the life-changing successes which were being reported by, in the lives of these young people who had come together for a year of service. and as they were linked with corporate teams that worked with them. now i also saw the power of these kind of partnerships in 2002 when i was asked to be the head of the olympic winter games in salt lake city. i saw what could happen when very desperate elements of a community were willing to join together in extraordinary unity. we were able to overcome challenges that many thought would be impossible for organization like ours to
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overcome. the now the clinton global initiative has also demonstrated effectiveness of entrepreneurship and social enterprise. you endeavour not only to comfort and assuage the pains of the afflicted but also to change lives. to change lives through freedom, through free enterprise, through entrepreneurship and through the income practicable dignity that is associated with work. free enterprise as we know has done more to bless humanity than any other economic system not only because it's the only system that creates a prosperous middle class but also because it is the only system where the individual enjoys the freed many do to guide and build his or her life. free enterprise can not only make us better off financially, it can make us better people. ours is a very compassionate nation as you know. we look around the world and we see withering suffering.
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our hearts break. though we make up only 4.5% of the world's population, we donate nearly a quarter of all global foreign aid, more than twice as much as any other nation on earth and americans give more of the money. pastors like rick warren lead mission trips that send thousands of americans around the world bringing aid and comfort to the poorest places on the planet. american troops are the first on the scene of a natural disaster. an earthquake strike, in haiti and care packages come from all over the world but they come first from america and not far behind of course are presidents clinton and bush. but too often our passion for charity as a people is tempered by our sense our aid is not always effective. we see stories of cases where american aid has been diverted to corrupt governments. we wonder why year after year after year of aid in
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relief seems never to extinguish the suffering and hardship, why it persists decade after decade. perhaps some of the disappointments are due it our failure to recognize how much the developing world has changed. a lot of the foreign aid efforts we put in place some years ago were designed at a time when government development assistance accounted for about 70% of the resources flowing to developing nations. today 82% of the resources that flow to developing nations come from the private sector, not the governmental sector. if somehow foreign aid con really leverage that massive investment by the private sector it may be able to exponentially expand the ability to not only care for those that are suffering but also to change their lives in a permanent basis. now private enterprise is having a greater and greater impact actually on its own in the developing world. as an example that john
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deere company embarked upon a pilot from project in africa that develop ad suite of farm tools that could be attached to a very small tractor. the company worked to expand the availability of capital to the farmers there so they could maintain and develop their own businesses. the result has been a good investment for john deere and a greater opportunity for african farmers who are able to grow more crops and provide for more plentiful lives of their own. for american foreign aid to become more effective it's got to embrace the principles that you see in these global initiatives. the power of partnerships, access to the transformative nature of free enterprise, and the leverage of the abundant resources that can come from the private sector. now i believe that there are three quite legitimate objects of our foreign aid it this country. first of course is to address humanitarian needs such as the case with pepfar, which is given medical
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treatment to millions suffering from hiv and aids. second to foster substantial united states strategic interest, perhaps military, democratic or economic. third there is another purpose and one i think has to receive much more attention and much higher priority in a romney administration and that is aid that elevates people and brings about lasting change in communities and nations. as an example, a lot of americans, including myself, are developed, excuse me, are troubled by developments in the middle east. syria has witnessed the killing of tens of thousands of people. the president of egypt is a member of the muslim brotherhood. our ambassador to libyas was assassinated in a terrorist attack. iran is moving toward nuclear weapons capabilities. we somehow feel that we're at the mercy of events rather than shaping events. i'm often asked why?
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what can we do about it to lead the middle east to stability and to ease the suffering and the ink aer and the hate there and the violence? obviously religious extremism is certainly part of the problem but that is not the whole story. the population of the middle east is very young as you know, particularly in comparison with the population of the developed nations and typically these young people as the president indicated a moment ago don't have a lot of job prospects. the levels of youth unemployment across the region are excessive and cronic. and a nations that have undergone a change in leadership recently, young people have greater access to information. in the past that was being carefully guarded by tyrants and dictators but now it's available. they see the good as well as the bad in surrounding societies. they can now organize across vast regions, mobilizing
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populations. idle, humiliated by poverty and crushed by government corruption their frustration and their anger grows. in such a setting for america to actually change lives, to change communities and nations in the middle east, foreign aid must also play a role and to the shape that role should play was brought into focus by the life and death of mohammed bazizi of tunisia the street vendor to self-i am mow lated and sparked the arab spring. you probably know this background but it struck me. he was just 26 years old. he had provided for his family when he was a very young boy. he worked a small fruit stand selling to passers by. the regular harrassment by corrupt bureaucrats was elevated one day when they came in and took cases of his fruit and then they took
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away his weighing scales, his only real capital equipment, away from him. on the day of his final protests witnesses say an officer slapped him and he cried out with these words, why are you doing this to me? i'm a simple person. i just want to work. i just want to work. work. that has to be at the heart of our effort to help people build economies, that can create jobs, young and old alike. work builds self-esteem. it transforms minds from fantasy and fanaticism to reality and grounding. work does not long tolerate corruption nor will it quietly endure the brazen theft by government of the product of hard-working men and women. to foster work and enterprise in the middle east and in other developing countries i'll initiate
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something i will call prosperity pacts, working with the private sector. the program will identify the barriers to investment and trade and entrepreneurip and entrepreneurialism in developing nations and in exchange for removing those barriers and opening their markets to u.s. investment and trade, developing nations will receive u.s. assistance packages focused on developing the institutions of liberty, the rule of law and property rights. we'll focus our efforts on small and medium-sized businesses. microfinance has been an effective tool promoting enterprise and prosperity and we've got to expand to small and medium-sized businesses as well often times too large for microfinance and too small for traditional banking. the ail of a much larger share of our aid must be the promotion of work and the fostering of free enterprise. nothing we can do as a nation will change lives and nations more effectively and
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permanently than sharing the insight that lies at the foundation of america's own economy. and that is that free people, pursuing happiness in their own ways, build a strong and prosperous nation. now when i was in business i traveled to a number of other countries. i was often struck by the vast difference in wealth among nations that were sometimes neighbors. some of that was of course due to geography. rich countries often had natural resources like mineral deposits or access to waterways for transportation. but in some cases all that seemed to separate a rich country from a more poor one was a faint line on the map. countries physically right next door to each other were in some cases economically worlds apart. think of north korea and south korea. i became convinced that the critical difference between these countries wasn't geography.
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i noticed that the most successful countries shared something in common. they were the freest. they protected the rights of individuals. and enforced the rule of law. they encouraged trade and enterprise. they understood that economic freedom is the only force in history that has consistently lifted people out of poverty and kept people out of poverty. look, a temporary aid package can give an economy a boost. it can fund projects. it can pay some bills. it can employ some people for a time but it can't sustain an economy not for the long term. it can't pull the whole cart if you will because at some point the money runs out. but an assistance program that helps unleash free enterprise can create enduring prosperity. free enterprise is based on mutual exchange. or rather millions of exchanges. millions of people buying, trading, selling, building, investing. yeah it has its ups and downs. it isn't perfect.
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it more reliable however and more durable and ultimately as history has shown it is more successful. by the way, perhaps the best example of the good that free enterprise can do is by be looking at the example of the developed world itself. my friend arthur brooks at the american enterprise institute, he has pointed out before the year 1800 living standards in the west were appalling. a person born in the 18th century lived essentially as his great, great, great-grandfather had. life was overwhelmed with disease and danger and early death. but starting in 1800 the west began two centuries of free enterprise and trade, living standards rose, literacy spread, health improved and in our own country between 1820 and 1998 real per capita gdp, real per capita gdp,
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increased 22 fold. as the most prosperous nation in history it's our duty to keep the engine of prosperity running, to open markets across the globe and to spread prosperity to all corners of the earth. we should do it because it is the right moral course to help others of our brothers and sisters but it is also economically the smart thing for us to do. in our export industries the typical job pays above what the comparable workers make in other industries. and more than one-third of manufacturing jobs in this country are tied to exports. sadly we've lost over half a million manufacturing jobs over the last four years. as president i intend to reverse that trend by insuring we have trade that works for america. i want to negotiate new trade agreements and ask congress to reinstate trade promotion authority. i want complete negotiations to renegotiate the trans-pacific partnership and create what i call the reagan economic zone where any nation willing to play
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by the rules of free and fair trade can participate in a new community committed to free and fair trade. i've laid out a new approach for new era. we're going to couple aid with trade and private investment and partnerships to empower individuals, encourage innovators, and reward entrepeneurs. today we face a world with unprecedented challenges and complexitis. we should not forget and can not forget that not far from here a voice of unspeakable evil and hatred has spoken out, threatening israel and the entire civilized world. we come together knowing that the bitterness of hate is no match for the strength of love. in the weeks ahead i will continue to speak to these challenges and the opportunities that this moment presents us. i will go beyond foreign assistance and describe also what i believe america's strategy should be to secure our interests and ideals
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during this uncertain time. a year from now i hope to return to this meeting as president, having made substantial progress towards achieving the reforms i've outlined but i also hope to remind the world of the goodness and bigness of the american heart. i will never apologize for america. i believe that america has been one of the greatest forces for good the world has ever known. we can hold that knowledge in our hearts with humility and unwaivering conviction. god bless you in this great work and god bless my country and yours. thank you so very much. it is an honor to be with you. [applause] martha: getting standing ovation from some in the crowd there, a good portion of the crowd. this is the clinton global initiative. there is the former president shaking the hand of former governor mitt romney. clearly one of the focus of mitt romney's speech which he took as an opportunity to talk a little more what foreign policy would look like under him. his subject of the day was
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foreign aid. so he talked quite a bit about that but he emphasized what he sees as the important way to bring foreign foreign aid and the importance of work. he says work builds self-esteem. talking about building work programs and encouraging entrepreneurship overseas. it transforms minds from fantasy and fanaticism to reality and grounding. work will not long tolerate corruption, nor quietly endure the brazen theft by government of the product of hard-working men and women. so that statement today from mitt romney as he tries to continue to make his mark on the foreign policy front. bill: also he made a direct reference to the quote, assassination of ambassador stevens in libya by terrorists. with me now house majority leader eric cantor, and you suggest that the president lacks seriousness and leadership when it comes to the middle east issue, when it to foreign policy. the white house calls this profoundly offensive. state your point. >> bill, we saw the interview that president obama conducted with "60
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minutes" the other neither and in the interview, i mean it was very clear that the president feels we've made a lot of progress in the middle east and that perhaps we've experienced a few bumps in the road was his terminology. well, the problem with that assessment is, i think it misses the point on the ground in the middle east. it misses the growing threat that our ally israel faces in the region as well as our other allies in the gulf by growing a bravado in tehran and, you know, i think, that again, the president has demonstrated that there really isn't a central rudder, if you will to our foreign policy coming out of the white house. i think most americans are looking at it, wanting to see more leadership, wanting to see america lead again. we just heard mitt romney at the clinton global initiative. i think that governor romney's statement there indicates that he is going to be very
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focused on america's role as a leader globally and that we have an obligation as the most prosperous, most free country on earth to be there for other freedom-loving people as they continue their struggle to gain the same kind of rights we enjoy here at home. bill: we're still working through this story with ambassador stevens as you know by the day and it has been suggested by republican leaders in the senate that if the threats against ambassador stevens were real and perhaps written down in a diary or they existed between tripoli and benghazi, that somewhere in the state department there are cables that suggest that the threat is real as well. do you believe that? >> well, obviously the information is still forthcoming but i think that most now will recognize this was a terrorist act. this is also an indication that although bin laden is dead al qaeda is not and that the threat that we face through the fanaticism and islamic extremism coming out
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of the middle east is very real, and that is, what calls for a strong foreign policy right now. and it is something that i know that our friends in jerusalem and in tel aviv are not very comfortable with given the threat that they face and the posture that this white house has taken and frankly i think that our allies in the gulf states also feel the need for a more certain leadership coming out of the white house, something that mitt romney demonstrated just a minute ago at the clinton global initiative. bill: just to be more direct here, senator barrasso from way open i think on our network last evening suggested there was a cover-up through the state department and perhaps beyond. do you agree with that? >> well, all i can say is the initial response out of the white house after the assassination of our ambassador was less than i think acceptable to say the very least and this notion that somehow we saw the
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white house deploy not only ambassador rice but others on the networks throughout that last sunday and with imparting knowledge or a view that frankly did not match with reality i think raises a lot of questions, a lot of questions where the administration stands, why the security wasn't there, in the aftermath of the death. where was the security that existed? why were other networks allowed access and the diary uncovered by the ambassador as well? all these are questions left unanswered by the administration and think reflect again a real concern that americans should have about the commitment to leadership on the part of this white house. bill: understood, to put a fine point on this, you're not using the word cover-up, are you? >> again i want to continue to see the information that comes out. i'm very, very concerned about the administration's,
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its posture since the killing and assassination of our ambassador. bill: eric cantor. thank you, sir. good to have you back on our program. >> thanks, bill. bill: martha? martha: president obama's last major foreign policy speech before the debates on october 3rd is coming up just moments from now at the united nations. a lot of focus on what he will say about the turmoil that is ongoing in the middle east. kt mcfarland will join us with more on that ahead. bill: let's lighten it up, huh? it might be the worst call we've seen in nfl football history. the sea hux -- seahawks get the win but the story doesn't end there. after we get off the air we'll be replacement refs in the nfl. jim gray comes along in a moment on this. ♪ . ♪
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♪ proud to and on our own ♪ proud to be homegrown ♪ a familiar face and a name you know ♪ ♪ can you hear it? ♪ fueling the american spirit ♪ no matter when, no matter where ♪ ♪ marathon will take you there ♪ fueling the american spirit
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martha: all right. so just when the fans thought it could not get any worse, nfl replacement refs making this call last night. watch. >> the game's final play. the it is a wilson lost to the end zone. which is? fought for by tate with jennings simultaneous. who has it? who do they give it to? touchdown! one guy goes up, touchdown. the other said no time. still have officials down there in the pile looking. martha: oh, boy. that was just the beginning. it went on for a long time after that. the final, referees finally ruled it a touchdown after something like a 20-minute review of that play. i'm glad to be joined by jim gray, veteran sportscaster and fox news contributor. welcome, jim. good to have you. >> thanks, martha, great to be with you. martha: oh my. what was your take on how that all played out last night? >> well, we have seen a lot
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of things in the national football league. we've had the holly roller, immaculate reception, the tuck rule but never seen anything like this. in this political season hard to get the people of wisconsin to agree on anything. you can take a poll today, 100%. they all feel that the packers were robbed. this was an outrage. it was really mishandled from the moment it happened. one official signaling as we just saw and picture now indicates one saying touchdown the other saying time out. not sure. and you see "the seattle times" yesterday, stole one. their feeling stolen from in wisconsin. martha: maybe pull the picture back up clearly. one ref arms crossed over his head. one in the touchdown position. then it went on and on and on. i mean, you know, when they have the replay you would think it would be a fairly expedient process if there is a conflict but this one went on for something like 20 minutes, right? >> it sure did.
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and it was chaotic. then they had to try to bring green bay back out onto the field so seattle could kick an extra point. that is the rule. now they have the game taken from them. the rule states that you have to come back out and play. that added to confusion and chaos. it is not a reviewable play who has possession. it is only possession if in fact the ball hits the ground. this right here they're looking at and reviewing simultaneous catch is not reviewable. that is up to the ref ferees on the field. they blew it. they're just bad. the speed of the game is just too quick for these guys. i feel bad for replacement officials. this isn't what they do. they're coming from other walks in life in terms of division. division 3 and college football and other instances where they just don't have the speed of this. and so it is not so much they're doing a horrible job. they're just not used to it. that leads to chaos on the field and they're incompetent. they're just not regular officials and they're over their heads. martha: you have this issue to resolve. then the nfl has the bigger
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issue how to reach an agreement with these refs. where does that stand? >> well, it wasn't going well. they had 15 hours of mediation over the weekend and it didn't lead to anything. they're just at an impasse. the nfl feels they put out a very fair offer. these officials going into this season make an average of $150,000 a year. that would go up over the course of this contract to an average of $200,000 a year. plus benefits. plus pension. they fly first class. we're talking about part-time people. and in this economy that is a pretty good job to come have 20 days a year plus whatever other travel days they have in preparation days. so it's a very, very fair offer that the nfl feels they put out on the table. however the leverage has swung back over to the officials today pause nfl fans, players, a lot of people tweeting. everybody just feeling this can not continue. this can not go on and that the integrity of the game
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has been severely jeopardized and it now is lacking. martha: yeah. they were burning up the twitter wires. let's take a look at some of those that we gathered. this one is from drew brees i believe the first one. i love this league and i love the game of football but tonight's debacle hurts me greatly. this is not the league that we're supposed to represent. look at another one we have here. this came in from reggie bush. says the refs single-handedly blew this one. we have a golfer in the mix. bubba watson says all nfl fans watch the ryder cup this week. we have no refs hashtag usa. everybody is weighing in on this. how do you think all this ends? if anything, good comes out of what happened last night and culminated over the weekend of course, started over the weekend of course? maybe all of these crazy actions and crazy plays will force some kind of resolution to this quicker than otherwise would have happened? >> well you would think they would have to come to an agreement of some sort now.
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you would think that the referees have to get realistic in the demands that the nfl has no know it is hurting the game and hurting the product they so viciously guard in the brand of the nfl and they have a grip on united states. it is most popular sport and you would think they would now move. they let me know when they reach an agreement this afternoon it will take time. they have to ratify this agreement in person. they have to get physicals. they have to be trained once again for the season. they're switching uniforms from reebok to nike. they have to get fitted. this isn't something that they can say we have an agreement today and then the officials will be on the field this weekend. that won't happen. it is a process. we're looking at least a week or couple more weeks of this and even if they could come to an agreement and they're not close. hopefully somebody will be able to talk some sense into both sides and that the nfl will recognize this is not in the best interests. they won the labor agreement with players and they need to --. martha: fitted for black and
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white shirts. >> yes, they do need to be fitted for that. martha: thank you very much. great to have you with us. nice to speak with you. >> nice to be with you. bill: somebody who is not bill walton, famous player for the ucla. these replacement refs make the games look exciting like a buffalo wild wings comercial the spot where they throw the flag and sprinkler system comes up and they go into overtime. got that to look forward to on sunday. blistering speech from republican vp paul ryan, slamming the president's policies and comparing the recent anti-american protests to 1979 tehran. our panel debates that next. >> we're seeing countries stifle freedom in iran, in russia, in all these other areas and we're saying we're going to gut our national security, our military. that projects weakness. need to d to meet the needs of my growing business. but how am i going to fund it?
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bill: all right. welcome back, everybody. vice-presidential nominee paul ryan slamming president obama's handling of anti-american protests overseas in the key swing state of ohio. he was in cincinnati and then lima, comparing the situation to iran's 1979 revolution which eventually led to protesters storming the u.s. embassy taking dozens of americans hostage and holding them for months. >> when the president came into office he made these grand speeches, beautiful rhetoric, great promises and he made the case that the power of his personality and his persuasion powers would calm things in the muslim world. would make things, would make people respect us and like us that much more. i mean, turn on the tv and it reminds you of 1979 tehran but they're burning our flags in capitals all around the world.
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they're storming our embassies. we've lost four of our diplomats and what is the signal that our government is sending the rest of the world? we're being equivocal on our values. we're being slow to speak up for individual rights, for human rights, for democracy. we're seeing countries stifle freedom in iran, in russia, in all these other areas. and we're saying we're going to gut our national security, our military. that projects weakness. bill: let's debate all this now. bob beckel, former democratic campaign manager. andrea tanteros, daily news columnist. both co-host of "the five." good morninging to both of you. serious topics here. we like to have fun. we're waiting on president obama and who knows what he will say about libya and egypt and ambassador stevens and the meeting or no meeting with benjamin netanyahu but what about the point paul ryan makes there, andrea? ladies first here on this? >> i think he is dead on.
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in 1979 we ousted an ally maybe not a nice guy but we did same thing here when we encouraged mubarak to step down. we urged him to step down. we also assistsed even though leading from behind, ousting qaddafi. both men not good men but we needed strong leaders in place. now the muslim brotherhood is in control in egypt and we just threw the libyan president under the bus last week when the white house basically said he doesn't know what he is talking about with regard to the fact that al qaeda was behind the attack. so, bill, it is very, very similar. the muslim world right now in the middle east looks at us like we have no might. judging by the remarks i've read the president's speech they have released there is no meat on those bones either. again we see the naivete he thinks he can deliver a speech and somehow change centuries, centuries of hatred. bill: let me make room for bob on this. >> you made the point about is centuries is exactly right. the idea of comparing these two events, i was in the white house in 1979, i know
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what went down on the whole iranian situation. nothing comparable to this. people died. our military died in the rescue attempt. there has been tragedy in both cases where people died but in terms of the scope of history, the comparison between the two simply doesn't stand up. now you could argue that the administration didn't have their ducks in a row, they didn't have intelligence they needed but i think what's happened here is, a terrible lack of coordination between branches of government and the story did not get out. we predicted this was a terrorist attack on "the five" the day it happened. >> paul ryan's point though we're projecting weakness. you think about -- >> what would he do? bill: apparently 100 citizens in benghazi who stormed the militia headquarters and drove the guys out of there. if we think they're responsible, why aren't we taking action against the militia in benghazi? >> what are we supposed to do? are we suppose to land more
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troops on the ground in yet another war in the middle east? at some point --. bill: i'm not suggesting that. go ahead. >> we see on capitol hill lobbying for more aid for the countries without any stipulation or pay back for what they did. bob, you actually said we predicted on "the five" it was terror attack. how did we know something the white house admitted two weeks ago was self-evident? why don't they have better intelligence than the president or secretary of state. >> can i make one other point. we want a democracy in the middle east. we got it in egypt. didn't like the outcome. that's too bad. bill: got it. bob, you were right called it terrorism on day one. everybody saw it that way too. we'll see how the president addressed that in a matter of moments. bob thank you. andrea, thanks to you as well. see you at 5:00. >> bye-bye. martha: we're awaiting the president obama's speech at united nations general assembly. we're seeing president of brazil speaking right now. we'll take you to president obama's remarks as soon as they get underway. we'll get immediate reaction
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to the remarks from u.n. ambassador to the u.n., john bolton. all of that with we come back.
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martha: fox news alert. president obama set to address the united nations general assembly moments from now. this is the president of brazil and he will follow her in a few minutes. a little while ago governor romney was speaking to the clinton global initiative. he spoke about the anti-american violence taking place in the middle east. brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. we are moments away from this. we heard governor romney speak being at the clinton global initiative. he hit on some of the same issues overseas. >> a lot of americans, including myself are troubled by developments in the middle east. syria has witnessed the killing of tens of thousands of people.
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the president of egypt is a member of the muslim brotherhood. our ambassador to libya was assassinated in a terrorist attack. iran is moving toward nuclear weapons capability. we somehow feel that we are at the mercy of events, rather than shaping events. i'm often asked why? what can we do about it that will lead the middle east to stability and ease the suffering and anger, and the hate there, and the violence? obviously religious extremism is certainly part of the problem but that is not the whole story. martha: all right, that was just a little while ago, governor romney. we have team fox coverage for you. former u.s. ambassador to the united nations, john bolton is here with his analysis on what is going on on the foreign policy front. first steven hayes from "the weekly standard" and a fox news contributor.
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one of the most sur just things we're watching unfold in new york is the president is not taking any meetings. the more you look at the history of this he had 13 meetings last time around with world leaders. he listened to tony blair earlier this morning saying the most important thing at this juncture is to stay engaged, to stay involved in the process as this inch folds. your thoughts? >> well i think that is right. and putting that in context you look at history of meetings, bilats as they call them at events like this. it suggests that this is something that the president should be doing particularly at this time. you're seeing incredible pressure on these negotiations or discussions or nonnegotiations as the case may be with respect to the iranian nuclear program. you're watching this unrest throughout the middle east. these are exactly the kind of times that i think world leaders would be eager to sit down with president obama, not just have a phone call but to sit across the table to look into his eyes, to try to get a better understanding of where the united states is going to be. i think the president needs to be having those meetings and to
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be communicating those things directly in such a way that you can't do either over the phone or in group sessions or in speeches or in interviews on the view. martha: i mean, that's the glaring question, steve. why would he not? i mean it's an opportunity to look presidential in a time of turmoil. why would he not want to take advantage of that opportunity sth. >> wel opportunity? >> there is an opportunity provided in new york times where you have a obama official quoted anonymously saying in this campaign season the president can't afford to take the time to be doing a series of these meetings. this is a paraphrase rather than a direct quotation was something like if he takes a meeting with one of these world leaders he has to take a meeting with ten. and i think it was just the conclusion of team obama that he didn't have the time to do that. i think it's a rather stunning comment and a rather problematic development that i think we will ae hear mit mitt romney anticipates team talk about
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quite a bit. martha: i think it will come up in the debates at all. it's an optimal moment for mitt romney to ask him why he wouldn't do that and something that you pointed out to go on the view over the course of this week. israel is the main focus of the meeting that was not taken with benjamin netanyahu this web. clearly it demonstrates that there is some strain there, does it not? >> yes. i mean there is no question. look, we've been hearing all along happy talk from the political leaders of each of the nations. the fact of the matter is this. there is reasonable relationship between military to military folks. there is a decent relationship on the intelligence side of things, political relationship is in at that tim tatters. it has been for a longtime. there have been meetings between senior israeli and american officials where curs words have been said. the president sought to isolate israel and change his approach
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to this part of the world. that with us a policy decision. you have people who agree with the president and will defend that vigorously. there are consequences to those policy decisions and i think we are looking at them before our eyes. martha: stick around we'll be watching the president in a few minutes. bill: we are getting bits and pieces of what the president will say. ambassador john bolton is a former u.n. ambassador. we understand the president is a little bit behind, we don't know if that will change or not. he was slate -d fo slated for 10:10am. what is your h he can peck station when it comes to israel, libya and iran. >> i think it's consistent with a no drama obama campaign approach. i think this entire visit to new york is consistent with the campaign strategy of no foreign policy until after the
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november 6th election. and i think the excerpts already released to the press may well be the high points, which are not very high when you look at them, saying the same thing he said about 20 times before on iran, and various other comments. so i would be surprised if there is much out of this speech in substance. bill: let me just pass a few to our viewers too. today we must affirm that our future will be determined by people like chris stevens and not by his killers. in reference to the ambassador. he will say there are no words that excuse the killings of inch cents and then the next line according to this. there is no video that justifies an attack on an embassy. that's in reference, again to this anti-mohammed film or video, however you refer to it. on the embassy matter, you have parse words because the embassy was in cairo the attack in libya was benghazi and that was the consulate. do you note the difference there?
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>> yeah, i think at least in terms of the repetition of the administration's long-standing story here that all of this. whether it was the terrorist attack in libya, or the penetration of our embassy compound in egypt, and the other riots around the middle east, that it was all caused by that mow amed video as opposed to being preplanned or furthering the agenda of al-qaida and other terrorist groups. so i think he's very much, again, just from these excerpts that they've released already going to continue to follow a line that i think is divorced from reality. bill: here is another line on iran. this is why the united states will do what we must do to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. why is that so funny? >> well, you know, all options are on the table in the obama administration. it's the same rhetoric he's used before, and in fact if anything it's torqued down a couple of
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notches. and the double with it that nobody believes him, the israelis don't believe that all options are on the table, worse the iranians don't believe this all options are on the table, but he's just not going to say anything that deviates from what he said before. he does not want to commit news today. and i think that's the real reason he's not meeting with any foreign leaders, the time factor is an issue, but i think what he's really afraid is that the leaders will come out of their meeting and one of these foreign heads of state will say something that he can't control that could become an issue, it's just better not to meet with anybody. bill: play it safe skip all meetings and get back to the trail? >> he's not even going to the secretary general's lunch foreheads of state, which we pay 22% of the cost of, he's not even going to take a celecry stick -- bill: what explains that? >> again, if no meetings happen, if he doesn't attend events like that, no news can come from them. and i think the sooner he gets
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out of the u.n. context, which is not i think a happy environment for many americans, the better off he is. he doesn't want to duck the speech obviously because it's such a good podium. bill: john bolton standby there we'll pick your brain after the speech mr. ambassador thank you. martha: very interesting. that is the background as we await the president. he will speak to the u.n. national assembly moments from now. we'll take a quick break here, we'll be back in 90 seconds, see you on the other side . dad's tablet... or lauren's smartphone... at&t has a plan built to help make families' lives easier. introducing at&t mobile share. one plan lets you share data on up to 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. add a tablet for only $10 per month. the more data you share, the more you save. at&t.
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martha: we are moments away, we're told, from president obama's speech at the united nations general assembly, that he has arrived and that he will follow the brazilian president who is finishing her remarks right now. gets bring in kt mcfarland who is standing by to talk to us. kt you have written speeches for presidents at the united nations, what do you expect here today? >> he's got to talk to two audiences the domestic and international audience an has to say very different things to him. martha, i can't help but jump in. everybody is missing the point about why obama is not meeting these world leaders, because in an election year it is the responsibility of the leaders to also meet with the opposition candidate. romney has the right to meet with all of those world leaders too if obama does. if obama doesn't romney doesn't. martha: interesting. >> the administration doesn't want to get romney in those pictures with world leaders, he'll look presidential, they don't want it. they get nothing out of it. if romney meets with these
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leaders he gets everything out of it, he looks presidential, he looks like he has the ability to be on that world stage. if obama meets with him he doesn't get anything, he's already met with them. martha: that is a very interesting point, kt. what he might squander, president obama in the process of trying to avoid that tit for tat as you say is the opportunity to do the job of being president. i mean this is a critical moment, i certainly don't have to tell you, unfolding here in the middle east and i think doesn't it beg the question of simply fitting the job description at this moment? >> yeah, but you know what, i've been in white houses during election years, the job is to get reelected. they figure they'll take care of all of that in a second term and they don't have a whole lot to gain by meetings. here is what might be at risk, romney has known benjamin netanyahu of israel for 40 years, they finish each other's sentences, they were coworkers together out of graduate
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school. what obama can't risk is that chummy relationship between romney and benjamin netanyahu in that photo op when in fact there will be a photo op of obama and benjamin netanyahu it doesn't look like very happy talk. remember that picture in the white house at the last meeting the bad language was so terrible they could hardly stand to be in the same room with each other. that is not what the obama administration wants right now. martha: you look at what mitt romney is talking about, in the speech that he gave at the clinton global initiative, which was to be focused on foreign aid so he focused on owl of that. he did put in his concerns about the incredible things that we've watched unfold in the middle east, including the assassination of one of our ambassadors in a country that we give a lot of money to. violence erupting across the middle east in so many of these places that we consider to be allies and that we certainly have pumped a lot of money into. what do you expect the president to say to address sort of that dispar disparity when he gets up to. >> in fact the president
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actually high school a really hard job in this speech. to the domestic audience what he has to say is jewish voters in florida. i'm sticking with israel, don't worry i'm not throwing israel under the bus. what he has to say to the international audience is exactly the opens. he has to reassert america's leadership in the world. these are not world events gone out of control that weary acting to. he's got to show the domestic audience, look i'm tough, these thins that happened in the middle east were not our fault. that assassination nothing to do with my policy. he's really got to give two completely different messages at the u.n. spao*efp. peach. i think what he'll opt for is a bland boring speech where he says nothing. martha: they said this morning it's better to be feared than loved, basically. it was suggested that this administration is too concerned with being loved. >> he's absolutely right. i mean in my long experience
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with being in republican administrations, in the really heyday of republican administrations is if you seek to be loved instead of being respected or feared you end up being neither. if you are respected and feared eventually, say with reagan you'll end up being loved, but don't -- it's like being a parent with your kids. don't try to be their best friend, don't try to have them love you, the whole point is to get them to to what you want them to do. martha: bill. bill: good luck with that, huh? kt thank you. another theme will be this defining choice that the president will talk about between the force thaes wil forces that will drive us apart in the things that we hold in common. the president of brazil is speaking at the u.n., president obama will follow her. i want to bring back ambassador bolton. sir there is a line in here to paraphrase, it will talk about how the united states will not shrink from its role in troubled
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transitioning nations. as you look at all of these hot spots popping up all over the world in northern africa you wonder what a second obama administration would do in terms of addressing that, because when you consider three weeks ago in charlotte he said this. after two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars it's time to do some nation building right here at home. that was a huge applause line in charlotte. what us it, do you continue to be engaged or pull back in the second administration here at home? >> well i think that what he will do will be to continue the american decline that we've seen in the first term, and i think if anything it will accelerate because his priority really is restructuring our domestic way of life. i think that this speech is just intended to get him past today. he will get a very warm reception from this audience if he read the manhattan telephone directory, in don contrast with president george w. bush who used to refer to this speech as
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his annual visit to the wax museum. it's not so much the words, i think he benefits from the reaction and jets back to time and gets back to his real priority which is campaigning. bill: what about the point that kt just made, suggesting that if barack obama. peter: with all of these leaders ten or 13 of them in new york mitt romney would be given a similar stage. is that true in. >> the leaders don't have to meet with the republican candidate. they might or they might not. i guess you'd have to ask the romney campaign whether they'd think they'd really get much benefit from meeting with mohammed morsi or anyone else the president met with. in any event it's not going to happen. what the president wants to do is get his round of applause and then go back to campaigning. bill: but the suggestion was that you elevate mitt romney your opponent on an international stage, a platform. >> as i say it's possible, it's possible that he'd rather be campaigning too. in any event it's not going to happen. bill: do you remember last year when we sat here and waited for
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this speech, and do you remember the themes that came out of that speech, and you now consider that we were talking in great detail about the arab spring, and there were many corners of this country, and the world for that matter that felt that the arab spring was the beginning of a whole new day in that part of the world. where is that now, 12 months later? >> well, i think that dream lies in ashes. and i think it was always a misperception of what was about to happen. there are certainly prodemocratic elements in the various countries of the middle east. they have been overwhelmed in egypt by the muslim brotherhood, in libya by continuing chaos, in syria by a brutal civil war and one on want on one, so that the aspirations that some had for democratic change, while they may be be laud torre laudatory they have not panned out.
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bill: just seeing the speech now by the president and the first ten or 12 paragraphs go directly toward the life of chris stevens and his demise from september 11th in benghazi. this will be interesting to watch and to see whether or not there were tere rims -- i can' terrorism is in it i can't read through it that quickly. we'll talk to you again in about 40 minutes. martha: just getting the details of the president's speechee are awaiting. moments away he will speak to the u.n. general assembly. we will get a quick break in. stay with us. we'll be right back. have all the fun? get two times the points on dining in restaurants, with chase sapphire preferred.
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why not use all your vacation days this year? get points you can easily redeem for your vacations, with chase sapphire preferred. martha: we are back, fox news alert. we take you to the u.n. and president obama. >> chris was born in a town called grass valley, california, the son of a lawyer and a musician. the young man, chris, joined the
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peace corps and taught english in more rack could he. and he came to love and respect the people of north africa and the middle east. he would carry that commitment throughout his life. as a diplomat he worked from egypt to syria, from saudi arabia to libya. he was known for walking the streets of the cities where he worked, tasting the local food, meeting as many people as he could, speaking arabic, listening with a broad smile. chris went to benghazi in the early days of the libyan revolution rao*eufg on arriving on a cargo ship. as america's representative he helped the people as they dealt with violent conflict, cared for the wounded and crafted a vision for the future in which the rights of all libyans would be respected. after the revolution he
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supported the birth of a new democracy as libyans held elections and built new institutions and began to move forward after decades of dictatorship. chris stevens loved his work. he took pride in the country he served, and he saw dignity in the people that he met. two weeks ago he traveled to benghazi to review plans to establish a new cultural center and modernize a hospital that's when america's compound came under attack. along with three of his colleagues chris was killed in the city that he helped to save. he was 52 years old. i tell you this story because chris stevens embodied the best of america. like his fellow foreign service officers he built bridges across oceans and cultures and was
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deeply invested in the international cooperation that the united nations represents. he acted with humility but he also stood up for a set of principles, a belief that individuals should be free to determine their own destiny and live with liberty, dignity, justice, and opportunity. the attacks on the civilians in benghazi were attacks on america. we are grateful for the assistance we received from the libyan government and from the libyan people. there should be no doubt that we will be relentless in tracking down the killers and bringing them to justice. i also appreciate that in recent days the leaders of other countries in the region, including egypt, tunisia and yemen have taken steps to secure our diplomatic facilities and
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called for calm. and so have religious authorities around the globe. but understand, the attacks of the last two weeks are not simply an assault on america, they are also an assault on the very ideals upon which the united nations was founded, the notion that people can resolve their differences peacefully, that diplomacy can take the place of war, that an inner dependent world all of us have a stake in working towards better opportunity and security for our citizens. if we are serious about upholding these ideals it will not be enough to put more guards in front of an embassy or to put out statements of regret and wait for the outrage to pass. if we are serious about these ideas we must speak honestly about the deeper causes of the
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crisis, because we face a choice between the forces that would drive us apart, and the hopes that we hold in common. today we must reaffirm that our future will be determined by people like chris stevens, and not by his killers. today we must declare that this violence and intolerance has no place among our united nations. it's been less than two years since a person in taoupbz already set himself on fire to express the violence in each country and sparked the arab spring. the world has been captivated by the transformation taken place and the you united states has supported the forces of change. we were inspired by the tunisian proceed t*ess that toppled the
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dictator. we believe in our own beliefs in the aspiration of the men and women who took to the streets waoefplt insisted on change in egypt, because our support for democracy ultimately put us on the side of the people. we supported a transition of leadership in yemen because the interests of the people were no longer being served by a corrupt status quo. we intervened in libya alongside a broad coalition and with the mandate of the united nations security council because we had the ability to stop the slaughter of innocents and we believed that the aspirations of the people were no powerful than a tyrant. as we meet here we again declare that the regime of bashar al-assad must come to an end so that the suffering of the syrian people can stop and a new dawn can begin. we have taken these positions because we believe that freedom and selfdetermination are not
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unique to one culture. these are not simply american values, or western values, they are universal values. even as there will be huge challenges to come with the transition to democracy, i am convinced that ultimately government of the people, by the people, and for the people is more likely to bring about the stability, prosperity and individual opportunity that serve as a basis for peace in our world. so let us remember that this is a season of progress. for the first time in decades tunisians, egyptians and libyans voted for new leaders in elections that were credible, competitive and fair. this democratic spirit has not been restricted to the arab world. over the past year we've seen peaceful transitions of power in malaou, in senega, and a new president in somalia. in berma a president has freed
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political prisoners and opened a closed society. a courageous disassent has been elected to parliament and people look forward to further reform. around the globe people are making their voices heard insisting on their inate dignity and the right to determine their future. and yet the turmoil of recent weeks reminds us that the path to democracy does not end with the casting of a ballot. nelson mandel a once said to be free is not merely to castoff ones chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. [applause] >> true democracy demands that citizens cannot be thrown in jail because of what they believe. and that businesses can be open without paying a bribe.
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it depend on the freedom of citizens to speak their minds and assemble without fear, and on the rule of law and due process that guarantees the rights of all people. in other words, true democracy, real freedom is hard work. those in power have to resist the temptation to crackdown on disassents. in hard economic times countries must be tempted -- may be tempted to rally around the people around perceived enemies at home and abroad instead of focusing on the pain steaking work of reform. however there will always be those who reject human progress, dictators who cling to power, corrupt interests that depend on the status quo, and extremists who fan the flames of hate and division. from northern island to south asia, from africa to the americas, from the balanc
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balkins to the pacific rim we've witnessed con srul son new political order. at times the conflicts arise along the fault lines of race or tribe, and often they arise from the difficulties of reconciling tradition and faith with the diversity and interdependence of the modern world. in every country there are those who find different religious beliefs threatening. in every culture those who love freedom for themselves must have themselves how much they are willing to tolerate freedom for others. that is what we saw play out in the last two weeks. is accrued and disgusting video that sparked outrage throughout the muslim world. i have made it clear that the united states government had
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nothing to do with this video, and i believe its message must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity. it is an insult not only to muslims but to america as well. for the city outside these walls makes clear we are a country who has welcomed people of every race and every faith. we are home to muslims who worship across our country. we not only respect the freedom of religion, we have laws that protect individuals from being harmed because of how they look or what they believe. we understand why people take offense to this video because millions of our citizens are among them. i know there are some who ask, why don't we just ban such a video? the answer is enshrined in our laws. our constitution protects the right to practice free speech. here in the united states countless publications provoke
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offense. like me the majority of americans are christian and yet we do not ban blasphemy against our most sacred beliefs. as president of our country, and commander in chief of our military i accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and i will always defend their right to do so. [applause] >> americans have fought and died around the globe to protect the right of all people to express their views, even views that we profoundly disagree with. we do not do so because we support hateful speech, but because our founders understood that without such protections the capacity of each individual express their own views and practice their own faith may be threatened.
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we do so because in a diverse society efforts to restrict speech can quickly become a tool to silence critics and oppress minorities. we do so because given the power of faith in our lives, and the passion, the religious differences can inflame, the strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech, the voices of tolerance that red light lee against bigotry and class tpa me anblasphemy and lift up the values of respect. i know that not all countries in this body share this particular understanding of the protection of free speech. we recognize that. but in 2012 at a time when anyone with a cellphone can spread offensive views around the world with a click of a button the notion that we can control the flow of information is obsolete.
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the question then is how do we respond? and on this we must agree, there is no speech that justifies mindless violence. [applause] >> there are no words who excuse the killing of innocents. there is no video that justifies an attack on an embassy. there is no slander that provides an excuse for people to burn a restaurant in lebanon or destroy a school in tunis, or cause death and destruction in pakistan. in this modern world, with modern technologies, to respond in that way to hateful speech empowers any individual who even gauges in such speech to create chaos around the world. we empower the worst of us if
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that's how we respond. more broadly the events of the last two weeks also speak to the need for all of us to honestly address the tensions between the west and the arab world that is moving towards democracy. let me be clear, just as we cannot solve every problem in the world, the united states has not and will not seek to dictate the outcome of democratic transitions abroad. we do not expect other nations to agree with us on every issue, nor do we assume that the violence of the past weeks, or the hateful speech by some individuals represent the views of the overwhelming majority of muslims, any more than the views of the people that produced this video represents those of americans. however, i do believe that it is the obligation of all leaders, in all countries, to speak out forcefully against violence and
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extremism. [applause] it is time to marginalize those who even when not directly resorting to violence use hatred of america, or the west or israel as the central organizing principle of politics. for that only gives cover and sometimes makes an excuse for those who do resort to violence. that brand of politics, one that pits east against west and south against north. muslims against christians, and hindu and jews, can't deliver on the promise of freedom. to the youth it offers only false hope. burning an american flag does nothing to provide a child an education. smashing a part a restaurant does not fill an empty stomach.
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attacking an embassy won't create a single job. that brand of politics only makes it harder to achieve when we must do together, educating our children and creating the opportunities that they deserve, protecting human rights and extending democracy's promise. understand, america will never retreat from the world. we will bring justice to those who harm our citizens and our friends and we will stand with our allies. we are willing to partner with countries around the world to deep entice of trade and investment and science and technology, energy and development, all efforts that can spark economic growth for all our people and stabilize democratic change, but such efforts depend on a spirit of mutual interest and mutual respect. no government or company, no school or ngo will be confident working in a country where its people are in danger.
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for partnerships to be effective our citizens must be secure, and our efforts must be welcomed. a politics based only on anger, one based on dividing the world between us and them, not only sets back international cooperation, it ultimately under mines those who tolerate it. all of us have an interest in standing up to these forces. let us remember that muslims have suffered the most at the hands of extremism. on the same day our civilians were killed in benghazi a turkish police officer was murdered in inch sta insurance stan bull days before his wedding. ten yemenis were killed in a car bomb. several afghan children were mourned by their parents days after they were killed by a suicide bomber in kabul.
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the impulse towards intolerance and violence may initially be focused on the west but over time it cannot be contained. the same impulses towards extremism are used to justify war between sunni and shiite, between tribes and chance. it leads not to strength and prosperity but to chaos. in less than two years we have seen largely peaceful protests bring more change to muslim majority countries than a decade of violence. and extremists understand this. because they have nothing to offer to improve the lives of people, violence is their only way to stay relevant. they don't build, they only destroy. it is time to leave the time of violence and the politics of division behind. on so many issues we face a choice between the prom is of the future or the prisons of the
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past, and we cannot afford to get it wrong. we must seize this moment, and american stands ready to work with all who are willing to embrace a better future. the future must not belong to those who target coptic christian is in egypt, it must be claimed by those in tahrir square who chanted, muslims, christians, we are one. the future must not belong to those who bully women, it must be shaped by girls who go to school and those who stand for a world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons. [applause] >> the future must not belong to those corrupt few who steal a country's resources, it must be won by the students and entrepreneurs, the workers and business owners who seek a broader prosperity for all people. those are the women and men that
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america stands with. theirs is the vision we will support. the future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of islam. but to be credible those who condemn that slander must also condemn the hate we see in the images of jesus christ that are desecrated or churches that are destroyed, or the holocaust that is denied. [applause] let us condemn incitement against sufi muslims and shiite pill pwreupls. gandhi said intolerance is itself the form of violence and an objecting stack he will to the growth of a true democratic spirit. [applause] >> together we must work towards a world where we are street end by our differences, not defined by them.
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that is what america embodies, that is the vision we will support. among israelis and palestinians the future must not belong to those who turn their backs on the prospect of peace, let us leave behind those who drive on conflict, those who reject the right of israel to exist. the road is hard but the destination is clear, a secure jewish state of israel and an independent, prosper rust palestineprosprosperous pal sign. >> america will walk alongside all who are prepared to make that journey. in syria a future must not belong to a a dictator who massacres his people. there is a cause that calls out for protest in the world today, peaceful protest it is the
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regime that tort taours children and shoots rockets at apartment buildings and we must remain engaged to assure that what began with citizens demanding their rights does not end in a cycle of sectarian violence. together we must stand with those syrians who believe in a different vision, the syria that is united and inclusive. where children don't need to fear their own government, and all syrians have a say in how they are governed, sunni s and aloites. and christians. that is the outcome we will work for with sanctions and consequences for those who persecute, and assistance and support for those who work for this common good. because we believe that the syrians who embrace this vision will have the strength and the legitimacy to lead. in iran we see where the path of a violent and unaccountable ideology leads.
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the iranian people have a remarkable and ancient history, and many iranians wish to enjoy peace and prosperity alongside their neighbors. but just as it restreubts th restricts the rights of its own government they continue to plop prop up a dictator in damascus and support terrorists groups abroad. it is timit is time to prove that its program is peaceful and pete its obligations. we won'time is not unlimited. we respect the right of nations to access peaceful nuclear power. one of the purposes of the united nation ises to see that we harness that power for peace. make no mistake, a nuclear armed iran is not a challenge that can be contained, it would threaten the elimination of israel, the
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security of gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy. it risks triggering a nuclear arms race in the region and the unraveling of the nonproliferation treaty. that is why a coalition of countries is holding the iranian government accountable and that's why the united states will do what we must to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. we know from painful experience that the path to security and prosperity does not lie outside the boundaries of international law and respect for human rights, that's why this institution was established, from the rubble of conflict. that is why liberty triumphed over taoerpb a knee i tyranny in the cold war, that is the lesson of the two last decades as well. history shows that peace and progress come to those who make the right choices. nations in every part of the world have traveled this
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difficult path. europe, the bloodist battlefield of the 20th century is united, free and at peace. from brazil to south africa, from turkey to south korea, from india to indonesia people of different races, religions have lifted people out of poverty while respecting the rights of nations and meeting their responsibility as nations. it is because of the progress that i've witnessed in my own lifetime, the progress that i've witnessed after nearly four years as president, that i remain ever hopeful about the world that we live in. the war in iraq is over. american troops have come home. we have begun a transition in afghanistan. and america and our allies will end our war on schedule in 2014. al-qaida has been weakened, and
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osama bin laden is no more, nations have come together to lockdown nuclear materials and america and russia are reducing our arsenals. we have seen hard choices made from cairo, to put more power in the hands of citizens. in the time of economic challenge the world has come together to broaden prosperity. through the g-20 we have partnered with emerging countries to keep them on the path. we have worked with african leaders to help them feed their nations. new partnerships have been forged to combat corruption and promote government that is open and transparent, and new commitments have been made through the equal futures partnership to insure that women and girls can fully participate in politics and pursue
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opportunity. and later today i will discuss our efforts to combat the scourge of human trafficking. all these things give me hope. what gives me the most hope is not the actions of us, not the actions of leaders, it is the people that i've seen. the american troops who have risked their lives and sacrificed their limbs for strangers half a world away. the students in jakarta or seoul who are eager to use their knowledge to benefit mankind. the faces in the square in prague or parliament in guana who see democracy giving voice to their aspirations. the young people in the vavelos of rio and the schools of mumbai whose eyes shine with promise. these men, women and children of every race and every faith remind me that for every angry mob that gets shown on television there are billions around the world who share
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similar hopes and dreams. they tell us that there is a common heartbeat to humanity. so much attention in our world turns to what divides us. that's what we see on the news, that is what consumes our political debates. but when you strip it all away, people everywhere long for the freedom to determine their destiny, the dignity that comes with work, the comfort that comes with faith, and the justice that exists when governments serve their people and not the other way around. the united states of america will always stand up for these aspirations, for our own people and for people all across the world. that was our founding purpose. that is what our history shows. that is what chris stevens worked for throughout his life. and i promise you this.
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long after the killers are brought to justice chris stevens legacy will live on in the lives that he touched, in the tens of thousands who marched against violence through the streets of benghazi, in libyans who changed their facebook photo to one of chris, in the signs that read simply, chris stev stevens was a friend to all libyans. they should give us hope. they should remind us that so long as we work for it justice will be done, that history is on our side, and that a rising tide of liberty will never be reversed. thank you very much. [applause] >> nearly 40 minutes rather on the clock and several references again to that video that has received so much attention. and more than we have heard from the president to date about the events in libya on september 11th, and about the life of chris stevens, our ambassador who was murdered. the president called those
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responsible, killers, but there was only one reference to the world terrorists and it did not apply to libya. a year ago this speech was largely about the arab spring and the birth of a new day in that part of the world, a year later the theme seems to have given way to the reality of handling the extremists in various countries that are fighting for power and attention. ambassador john bolton, former u.s. ambassador at the u.n., fox news contributor. grade this speech mr. ambassador. how was it? >> well, i'd give it about a c. it was like a great, big, warm fuzzy blanket. the president comes out in favor of tolerance. there is your breaking news. the problem with the speech was that it was infused with the fallacy of moral equivalency, that there is sort of extremism and intolerance everywhere and it's all the same. and the best example, the israelis and the palestinians, is that they both have problems that they've got to put behind them, as if terrorist attacks on
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the one hand and legitimate self-defense on the other are equivalent. and it's that moral equivalent see that i think running throughout the speech is a very good idea of barack obama's view of the world, and one where america's place in it is not what most americans think it should be. martha: ambassador bolton i want to draw your attention to another section of the speech, it was the one place where president obama sort of put the events that we're seeing in the middle east in a larger context, which i think a lot of people have been urging him to do in some ways. he said more broadly the events of the last two weeks speak to the need for all of us to address honestly the tensions between the west and an arab world moving to democracy. just as we can't solve every problem in the world the united states has not will not seek to dictate the outcome of tensions abroad. your reaction to that. >> that is a statement that the united states is not going to interfere whether it's in our interest to do so or not.
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there was one very interesting addition to the speech not in the prepared text. after the president gave what i thought actually was a very good defense of the first amendment, certainly the best we've heard from the administration in this last two weeks, he then said, we understand that there are many nations that don't share our view of the first amendment, or share our view of freedom of expression, then he added this. that was not in his prepared text, he said, we accept that, which is a way of saying to these regimes, well go ahead and repress speech and allow this kind of riot *us activity we've seen. i thought that was a statement about an unwillingness of america to assert its interest that gives license to those who would take advantage of it. bill: overseas, how are these speeches received? one assumes that there is immediate translation into arabic that is up on algentlem
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on al jazeera, and you have several references to the video. if you truly believed that it was the film and the video that incited all the people into the street two weeks ago, that's why you would bring it up. >> i think this is a real mistake. that is not the cause of this unrest in the middle east, and the continuous repetition of that as the reason for the assassination of our am bass tkoerbgs the assaultambassador, the assaults on our embassy simply indicates to the people that the president doesn't understand what is at stake here. there were other revealing passages as well that are consistent with the theme of declining american influence. he said, for example that we will end our war in afghanistan in 2014, which is what he would do if he were reelected. we will end our war. that is very true. unfortunately al-qaida and taliban are not going to end their war, and there in lies the
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problem. i think in various parts of the broader middle east and around the world people will see this as another peac piece of evidence of the president's unwillingness to assert american interest around the world. martha: thank you very much ambassador bolton, joining us with some thoughts on the president's speech, and this. eight years later, a suspected terrorist is set to face justice on u.s. soil. why this man who was accused of setting up a jihad training camp in oregon is now set for extradition along with four others who may be directly tied to osama bin laden. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future.
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can. bill: now on to our day jobs which is officiating nfl games. martha: getting fitted for our new uniforms. people will be so happy when i show up because i know all the symbols. let me tell you. bill: work on that. a big morning of news as you saw mitt romney leading into presidob

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